Life-boat.



|m..7sl,`4|7.4 I I, a-Patented-sapt.16,1902.

n. n. MAYo.. I

uFE BoAT.

I appunti@ und 1m; 25,1901.)

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III II Ivu" IIIIM II'I; III I L f UNITED i STATES n PATENT EEICE.

ROBERT DIMOND MAYO, OF FRANKFQRT, MICHIGAN.

LIFE-BOAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 709,417, dated September 16, 1902. Application iiled March 25, 1901. Serial No. 52,760. (No model) To @ZZ whom/it may concern/.f f

Be it known that I, ROBERT DIMoNDMAYo,

a citizen of the.United States, residing at Frankfort, in the county of Benzie and State of Michigamlhave invented certain new and useful Improvements inV Life-Boats, of which v the folloWingQis agspecification.

The principal bject of the invention is to i provide a` simple, economical, and efficient life-boat having an outer rotatable shell and f inner pendulous carriage, with means for propelling the same.

Further objects of the invention will appear from aninspeotion of the drawings and the following description and claims. c

The invention consists principally in a life-` boat provided with an outer rotatable shell,

an inner pendulous carriage,.and a centerboard foldably; secured to such shell.

The invention consists, further, inea lifeboat provided with an outer rotatable shell, an inner pendulous carriage, and a double centerboard pivotally secured to the shell substantially in line.with its longitudinal axes and means for folding thecenterboardc against the shell. l i The invention consistsgfurther and finally,

' in the features, combinations, and details of construction hereinafter described and claimed. i

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a life-boat constructed in` accordance Withthese improvements; Fig. 2,

an enlargedlongitudinal sectional elevation of a portion of the boat from one` end to substantially the centerthereof; Fig. 3, a crosssectional viewtaken on line 3 of Fig. 2 look-. ing in thedirectionof the arrowV and showing one of the foldable centerboards tight against the shell of the boat and the other in open operating position; Fig. 4, a cross-sectional view taken on line 4. of Fig. 2 looking in the directionV of` the arrow; Fig. 5, an enlarged cross-sectional detail showing a portion of the buter rotatable shell and one of the foldable centerboards held tight in position against the same, taken at about line 5 of Fig. 2; and Fig. (i, an enlarged sectional detail taken on line 6 of Fig. 4, showing one of the sheavepnlleyson which the pendulous carriage is supported. 4 i

In the art to which this invention relates it is well known that this class of life-boat is one that seems to remove the greatest amount of objections and at the same time provide for the greatest comfort and safety of the passengers; but it is also well known that it isdesirable to have this kind of a life-boat provided with some means by Which it may in ordinary Weather be self-propelled, and it is with this idea that the present invention is designed. A.In constructing a boat in accordance with my improvements I make an outer inclosing shell a, which is preferably cigar-shaped when` looked at in side elevation and circular when looked at in cross-section--in other Words, resembles a cigar. This outer inclosing shell, unless provided with obstructing 1neans,is what might be termed a rotatable shell, in that it is freerto rotate or roll upon the water. In order to provide for the safety of passengers, a living-chamberb is provided,

formed by and between a pair of inner bulkheads c, one located at or near each end of `theboat and which form the end Walls of c ithis living-chamber. The inside of these 'partitions or bulkheads is provided with a `multiplicity of rotatable sheaves or groovepulleys d, mounted thereon and upon a con-` necting-ring e, so as to rotate upon shafts f. The living-chamber is further provided with pendulous carriage g, upon which the passengers of the boat may rest and be kept comparatively free from the objectionable rolling or side-lurching of the boat. These pendu lons carriages are provided at one end, preferably, with a cable, cord, or similar element h, `which is passed around the upper lsheave-pulleys and down through and around the under side of the carriage, thus acting to support the same in an efcient and pendulous manner upon the pulleys, no matter what the position of the boat maybe. The

IOO

inner ends of these pendulous carriages are preferably supported by means of the arms t' upon a-hollowtube j, passed through a central partitionor bulkhead lo, which extends transversely across the boat. While I prefer for many reasons to use this central hollow tube 7' to support the inner ends of the pendulous carriages, I do not desire to be limited thereto, as it will be seen that this central transverse bulkhead may be provided with a set of sheave-pulleys similar to that shown at the other end of the carriage. To provide for entrance into the living-cham ber, the upper part-and I' speak here relativelyof the outer inclosing shell is provided with two or more hatch-doors Z, which are arranged to be opened or closed whenever desirable or necessary and through which the passengers may have ingress or egress.

In order to provide forv the buoyancy of the boat, as Well as for the safety of the occupants, each end is provided with an annular air-tight compartment m, formed by the end of the shell and the transverse bulkheads fn. Between these transverse bulkheads 'n and the bulkheads c an air and water space 0 is provided near each end of the boat, the shellopposite said space having a multiplicity of ports or openingsp, through which air and water may have ingress and egress.

It is desirable to provide means by which the boat may be during proper weather selfpropelling. To accomplish this, it is first necessary to provide some means by which the outer inclosing shell may be prevented from 'rotating to any appreciable extent-in other words, that the shell may be permitted to rotate in rough weather or when discharging it from a steamer, but which can be made nonrotatable at any time it vmay be desirable or necessary. To accomplish this, a centerboard is provided, made in two parts q and fr,piv oted to the boat at s longitudinal thereof and substantially in line with its axial center. Both of'these parts, as above suggested, are pivoted to the boat along this line, one arranged to fold to the right and the vother to the left against and to conform with the outer surface of the annular shell, so as to permit it to roll or rotate as freely as possible whenever desired, and it can be lowered, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, to form a centerboard, and thus counterbalance the wind-pressure upon the sails, as hereinafter described. In order to raise and lower these centerboards, or, in other words, to fold or unfold them, the central transverse bulkhead or partition 7c is provided with tubular portions t, arranged parallel with a diametrical line and extending up to or slightly above the center of the boat, through which cords, cables, or similar elements may be passed, oneend of which is secured to the free lateral edge of the centerboard and the other to a turnbuckle t. From this turnbuckle acord u is passed over a hook V'or pulley :10,'by which any one of the occupants or passengers of the boat may raise or lower the centerboard, the turnbuckle being used totighten it as much as may seem desirable or necessary. From this description of construction it will be seen that when the .wind-pressure on the upper side of the shell is toward the left or port the foldable board q should be lowered in order to coun- I terbalance or resist the same, and when the within such space, and which maybe passedout through one of the'port-holes p, being anchored in a socket z at the lower side of the shell, as shown in Fig. 2. Both of these masts are provided with square sails 18 and 19, respectively, which can be raised and lowered as may seem desirable or necessary to propel the boat, and yards 11 and 12, which are provided with fore and main yard sheets 13 and 14, respectively, passed through bulkheads or axial openings in the outer shell into the exterior, where they maybe manipulated by the passengers or seamen. A jib-boom 15 is also provided and passed through an axial opening in the bow of the boat and anchored therein by means of the key 16. A stay or jlb sail 17 is provided,^secured to such jibboom and foremast, having a sheetv20 fastened at `the lower end thereof and passed back through one of the port-holes q. A sail 21 is also provided, fastened to the foremast and provided with a sheet which may be either secured to the mainmast or passed back through one of the after port-holes and also with a second sheet passed through one of the port-holesat the forward end of the boat.

A rudder 22 is provided and removably secured to the stern of the'boat, in line with the `axial opening` therein, (shown in Fig. 2,) the stem of which is provided with a sheave-pulley 23, adapted to be operated from within the boat, and thus 'control the movements thereof.

The boat is particularly built for the purpose of using sails as a self-propelling medium or means, for the reason that the pendulous carriage may be swung to one side or the other to compensate for the list of the vessel, and thus act asa counterbalance or ballast for. the wind-pressure on the sails. To provide means for holding the pendulous carriage at one side or the other of the shell, as may seem necessary, and thus counterbalance' the list, I prefer to provide a pair of clamping-jaws 23, pivoted to the pendulous carriage and arranged opposite one of the circular strengthening ribs 24 of the vessel. Between the upper end of these clampingjaws and also pivotally secured to the pen- IOO IIO

be placed in position to take advantage of it.

dulous carriage is the camportion 25 of a pivoted `lever 26, which may be rocked to close suchrjaws, and t-hus lock the pendulous carriage and outer inclosing shell together at any desired position- Of course it will be seen that this peculiar clamping mechanism may be dispensed with and an annular rack secured to the shell engaging with a pinion in the carriage to rotate one or the other of the parts to the desired position without departing from the spirit of the invention, all of which can be accomplished by mechanical skill. The pinion of course should be arranged to be thrown into and out of mesh and locked in either position.

In operation when the life-boat has been launched, we will say from a sinking vessel in a storm, the occupants can wait nntil the storm subsides and then the outer shell be rotated, so that the foldable centerboard will come on the bottom and the hatch-doors on top. One of the seamen, if there be such on board, can pass out `through the hatch and the folded sails be then handed outto him, the masts extended, and the sails raised into po sition as shown in the drawings, the sheets being passed back into the lving-comimrtment. It is understood, of course, that the centerboard is first unfolded into position to resist the listing of the shell in any undue manner. The rudder i's then) placed in position, and should there be any wind the boat can easily I claiml. In a lifeboat of the class described, the

combination of an outer rotatable shell, a foldable centerboard pivotally attached thereto, means for folding the centerboard against the side of the shell and permitting it to swing into operative position, an inner pendulous carriage rotatably mounted in the shell, and means for lot-king the pendulous carriage to the shell in any desired position with relation to the centerboard, substantally as described.

2. In alife-boat of the class described, the combination of an outer rotatable shell, a foldable centerboard pivotally secured thereto, means for swinging the centerboard into and out of operative position, a pair of transverse bulkheads arranged atV each end. of the shell forming an inner compartment between them, a pendulous carriage in such inner compartment movably mounted upon the bnlkheads, and means for locking the pendulous carriage to the rotatable shell in any desired position with relation to the centerboard, substantially as described.

3. In a life-boat of the class described, the combination of an outer rotatable shell, an inner pendulous carriage, a foldable centerboard secured longitudinally to the outer rotatable shell to be opened or closed, means for locking the pendulous carriage to the shell in any desired position with relation to the centerboard when the centerboard is in its open position, a transverse partitionin the shell provided with openings extending therethrough, and means passed down through such openings and connected with the foldable centerboard by which such board may be opened and closed, substantially as described.

4. In a life-boat of the class described, the combination of an outer rotatable shell provided with two or more transverse partitions forming a living-compartment therein, a multiplicity of sheaVe-pulleys on the inner side of such bulkheads or partitions, a pendulous carriage, and a cable, cord, or similar element secured to the pendulous carriage and passed over a plurality of such sheave-pulleys to swingingly hold such carriage in the desired position, substantially as described.

5. In a life-boat of the class described, the combination of an outer rotatable shell, a foldable centerboard pivotally secured longitudinally thereto and arranged to be folded against the shell or opened into operative position, a pendulous carriage, means for locking the pendulous carriage and the rotatable shell together to form a balance or compensation for the list of the boat, masts arranged to be secured to the annular shell, and sails for suchmasts substantially as described.

ROBERT DIMOND MAYO.

Witnesses:

THOMAS F. SHERIDAN, HARRY IRWIN CRoMna. 

